ACID SULFATE SOILS and COASTAL Wetland LINKS:-

The Wetlands of NE NSW and SE QLD have been increasingly rapidly destroyed, due to development , infrastructure pressures and inappropriate planning decisions . This means that the HABITATS of many of our COASTAL NATIVE AUSTRALIAN WILDLIFE have been under rapidly increasing pressures also. Acid Sulfate Soils are a key feature of many wetland areas of NE New South Wales and SE Queensland

Saltwater Wetlands Rehabilitation Manual (published by the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change)- described as :- aiming to ” to increase knowledge and understanding of saltwater wetlands and to be a key resource in the field of rehabilitation and management. This manual focuses on the rehabilitation of wetlands influenced by brackish or saline waters. These wetland types are home to swamp forests, saltmarshes, mangrove forests and seagrass beds”

Australian ONLINE Coastal Information- OzCoasts :- COASTAL ISSUES include Acid Sulfate Soils. “ASS are soils and other soft sediments that contain iron sulfides (mostly pyrite (FeS2)… with typically smaller quantities of iron monosulfides (FeS)).” When iron sulfides are exposed to oxygen in the atmosphere, “they can be oxidised. Pyrite oxidation produces a cocktail of sulfuric acid, aluminum, iron and other heavy metals that can move into coastal waterways, and this can have significant environmental and economic impacts” Some impacts include, fish kills, infrastructure damage, poor water quality, low water pH and anoxic and hypoxic events. Acid dust, occurring from disturbance of Acid Sulfate soils can lead to irration of the eyes and skin. The effects of acid sulfate Soils on human health are not clearly understood as yet.

“Improving Coastal Hotspots” – a manual created by Australian Government Land and Coasts :- “What is a coastal hotspot? A coastal hotspot is an area that: encompasses one or more matters of national environmental significanceas defined under the EnvironmentProtection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (1999) , is under pressure as a result of population growth and development, disturbance of acid sulfate soils, and water quality decline, is suffering ecosystem disturbance leading to habitat loss and biodiversity decline.”

Search for “RUNNELLING” at WetlandCare Australia . Runnelling is a method used to help alleviate Mosquitos in wetland areas. Find out more about it, in particular, a study that has been underway for many years at Coomera Island, SE QLD.

Qld Govt Department of Environment and Resource Management – in the Land Management Section, under DEGRADATION, you will find information about Acid Sulfate Soils :- What are Acid Sulfate Soils, Where are they, Mapping, Identifying, Impacts, and Resources for understanding Acid Sulfate Soils in Queensland.

NSW Primary Industries – Agriculture:- here you will find “an Introduction to Acid Sulfate Soils. They have put ASS in the area of Natural resources and Climate & Soil health and fertility. There are some clear diagrams here, with photos and descriptions of what Acid Sulfate Soils can look like.

“Australia is reported to have lost between 75 to 90 percent of coastal wetlands over the past 200 years (Finlayson, 2000. Usback & James 1993). Not only have wetlands been decimated historically through land clearing for agriculture and urban development and drained or isolated from adjoining wetlands, they remain one of the most severely threatened ecosystems in eastern Australia through coastal development and land use”

COASTAL AND SUB-COASTAL WET HEATH SWAMPS www.epa.qld.gov.au/…/29113-08_WetHeathSwamps_WEB.pdf “There are floristic similarities shared by both ‘dry’ and ‘wet’ heaths in Australia. Plant communities are typically rich in species with the major plant families represented including: myrtles (Myrtaceae), proteas (Proteaceae), epacrids (Epacridaceae), boronias (Rutaceae), wattles (Mimosaceae), peas (Fabaceae),lilies (Liliaceae), grass-trees and mat-rushes (Xanthorrhoeaceae). In some situations, wet heaths may grade into coastal and sub-coastal grass, sedge, herb swamps dominated by rushes (Juncaceae), sedges (Cyperaceae) and node-sedges (Restionaceae).” and page 11…”Maintaining water quantity and quality is an essential part of conserving and managing coastal and sub-coastal wet heath swamps in Queensland. The complex relationships between soil water, plant productivity, nutrient cycling, species composition, and fire and grazing regimes present wetland managers with difficult and often delicate decisions which can have irreversible consequences. For example, where the length and periodicity of soil waterlogging is significantly reduced, long term and even permanent ecological changes to these wetlands can occur, including species invasion by plants less tolerant of anaerobic soil conditions, …”

Restoration Strategy Belongil-Cumbebin Wetland Complex Northern Rivers Catchment Management Authority Funded Project #NRRH7 03 **”Executive Summary” outlines the issues involved in managing areas such as the proposed WEST BYRON SSS DEVELOPMENT, as it currently stands, without any further urban development.